Fever Tree Cottage, Houtboschhoek, Mpumalanga

Alignment of all things

These are a few of my favourite things – views down a valley, stone farm cottages next to a dam, Black Crakes (I know!), white décor and linen, freestanding deep baths and generous farm hosting. The stars have aligned and I find all these and much more at Fever Tree Cottage, Houtboschhoek in Mpumalanga. The perfect stopover, 10km off the N4 on my way to the Kruger National Park, I rather wished I had booked to stay here a week or more.

I arrive on an unusually cold, wet and misty night after a long day’s travel. A fire is lit in the gorgeous white open-plan cottage, warming the lounge, kitchen and pretty bedroom. Roasted pecan nuts, fresh milk, tea, filter coffee and fruit juice are provided in the cottage – rural hospitality at its best.

Someone with a keen eye for décor and texture has had a hand in the creation of this little haven, with the natural stone exterior of the cottage offset with whitewashed interior walls. A puffy white bed mirrors the uneven walls. Modern and stylish upholstery in the lounge references the rich bird and plant life outside the cottage, which has a private deck and overlooks the dam and valley beyond.

There is nothing dark or dingy about this cottage, and the open-plan design works well to give a fresh and modern feel in such a traditional cottage. Deep-set windows highlight the thick and lumpy stone walls in every room. The well equipped kitchen has also been done by a soul sister, with a butler’s sink, good coffee-making equipment and country style implements.

Accommodation Experience:

After a soft and cozy night’s sleep, I wander out early in the mist, walking around the cottage dam. I come across my said favourite waterbird, the shy Black Crake, swimming in the reeds. With an impossibly lime-green, elongated beak and neon pink legs, he is unaware of my presence. I have never before encountered one so happy and free as he splashes about, chortling and squeaking in delight. It quite takes my breath away and it feels like a rare privilege of belonging in this place. As soon as he becomes aware of me, he disappears in an instant into the reeds and the moment is past.

Amidst the stress and issues of life, this counts as a time in which everything in the world felt right and exactly as it should be. I hope you also have many moments like these where you can feel that rare alignment of all things, where life comes full circle back at you to give a glimpse of its beauty and imperfect perfection.

5th Seasons Guesthouse, Nelspruit

Lowveld Classic

Gorgeous little cottages set up against a high koppie (stone hillside), made of classical tin walls and wooden decks which are so quintessential to this Lowveld region, I am well pleased to have discovered 5^th Seasons Guesthouse in Nelspruit (Mbombela). 

The beautiful décor manages to be both stylish and minimalist, always a happy combination in my world. Naturally themed, choose between the Bird Room, the Tree Room and the Botanical Room, all identical in layout. With a slipper bath, King sized bed, a couch, kitchenette, double cottage-pane doors and a deck opening out onto a spacious view, the huts are well designed and thoughtfully finished.

Each cottage has an individual parking bay, with private access through a raised wooden walkway. The hillside is covered in big rocks and large-rooted trees and is home to many indigenous bird species. The cottages are situated 5km outside of Nelspruit (Mbombela) on the R40 towards Barberton in Mpumalanga.

Accommodation Experience:

Called “Kruger Park nerds” by our family and friends, we were planning to head out at dawn’s first light from 5^th Seasons Guesthouse in Nelspruit, where we had stopped over on our way to our beloved Park. But somehow the gentle slowing of the Lowveld has infiltrated this place. We find ourselves in no hurry at all to leave the guesthouse, first lying under soft covers as long as we like, then sitting outside on the high deck, drinking coffee while enjoying the sounds of the many birds of this area. So lovely is this place that I even find myself wishing for another night here, as a transitional space between the hectic Real World and the otherworldly space of the Park.

Jatinga Country Lodge, White River, Nelspruit

A blessing for one who is exhausted

 Nelspruit offers an exciting range of characterful accommodation, especially with the taste of the Kruger National Park in the air. Jatinga Country Lodge is in the neighbouring village of White River, up a high hill overlooking Nelspruit, and even closer to the gateway to the Park. Famed for its gardens, historic buildings and fine cuisine, Jatinga offers the best of country hospitality. One feels welcomed and known by each member of the staff who genuinely care that one’s stay is comfortable and enjoyable.

Colonial, English- and French-country themed suites offer features like outdoor showers, wide baths, and indoor fireplaces. The rooms are spacious, with double doors leading out onto private patios. Paved walkways between the rooms wend amongst gentle fountains, wide lawns and spreading trees.

Accommodation experience

I was doing another week of intense psychological work in Nelspruit, weary and in need of a soothing haven to keep the circling existential despair at bay. This is what I found at Jatinga Country Lodge – with the kindest of staff, ivy-clad buildings, green trees, and calm decor. I wanted to hug my softly lit room at the end of each day, so glad I was for its friendly welcome. Taking a drink out onto my private patio, I let the sounds of bushveld birds and the sight of the fever trees call me back to the present. I would stay outside until darkness set in, then enjoy a hot outdoor shower under cool starlit skies. At night the duvet felt snug and heavy and when I woke I was fully refreshed to start the next day.

In his poem “A Blessing for One Who is Exhausted,” John O’Donohue writes:

You have travelled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of colour
That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Jatinga offered a taste of this healing process which natural light, stone, water and the small miracles of nature can offer.